Lets talk Rod & Reels

hp468

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Been in the market lately for a couple of bait casters. I'd like to get some recommendations on some good brands/models to check out. I cut my teeth on Diawas/Shimano/AbuGarcia bait casters when I was a kid, but I'm seeing other brands now that seem to be popular (Lew's appears to be a big name now).

I'll admit that I haven't been in the bass fishing scene for quite some time but I have noticed a trend or maybe not so recent trend of these rod & reel combos coming with obnoxiously long split grip handles.

Am I missing something? Have the bass gotten so big that we now need to anchor rods into our belts like were in the Big Rock Tournament? Did people stop using top water jerk baits and baits where wrist action is required? I grabbed a couple spinning reel combos with this type rod from Academy and have not been impressed.

Someone please explain the purpose of these abominations of fishing poles to me (I see my two being dedicated catfishing rods, not good for much else IMO).

What say ya'll?
 
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I haven’t used the split grip rods but did recently try a cast king bait caster, pole and braided line. I was very impressed with the feel of the rod and the bait caster was very smooth. All three were purchased from amazon for under $200. Unfortunately I only got to fish with it 7 or 8 times before someone else decided to help themselves to it and I haven’t been able to replace it yet.
 
Where you at? If you aren’t far from me I’ll let you take some stuff and play with it. I’ve got a couple lews baitcasters and a couple more brands and a ton of rods
 
Where you at? If you aren’t far from me I’ll let you take some stuff and play with it. I’ve got a couple lews baitcasters and a couple more brands and a ton of rods

Brave man offering to loan out a baitcaster :eek:. I'd take you up on a demo but your roughly 2 hours from me, any suggestions on specific models?
 
I grew up bass fishing the Santee lakes and Cooper river in SC. Like you, I’ve been largely inactive for quite a while, save for the occasional golf course or private pond. When I fished a lot (dad was a school teacher and we averaged 3 days a week after school) I fished mostly Abu Garcia reels and Berkley rods - we were on a budget :). This was the 90’s through mid 2000’s. What I’ve noticed the last 10-15 years is a trend toward lower profile reels that sit low into the rods that are as you described with ball bearings in places I didn’t k ow you could put them. I always liked the “solid”, maybe you could call it “robust” feel of the Abu reels (4600, 5500 series) particularly with a heavy jig or crankbait and with larger spinner/buzz baits. They used to offer a lifetime warranty. I’ve always had success with jerkbaits and even small topwaters with a shorter (6’) rod and smaller reel such as most Shimano reels. I used a pistol grip rod and several iterations of Shimano’s Bantam series reels. Smooth retrieve, and a lot of wrist action with a Heddon tiny torpedo or Pop’R caught me a lot of fish. Maybe I’m getting dated here, and I’m not trying to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I challenge you to find a pistol grip rod anywhere. I haven’t seen one in a while. I love a 7’er or more with a long butt for pitching heavy baits, but they are tough to work lighter balsa Rapala with, particularly a jerkbait. Again, maybe I’m sounding old here, but I’m open minded and look forward to hearing more on this thread.
 
I have 3 or 4, maybe 5 Lew's reels with differing retrieval rates. For the $ I think they are about the best bang for the buck. Not rediculously priced but function well. I throw braid mostly but always have one or two with lighter mono or polymer.

Rods are another story. I have one Lew's that pretty light and I would not bad mouth it. I used to live in Wisconsin for about 20 years so I would visit the St. Croix factory and get "Blems". Just because some colors ran together I got a fantastic rod for half price.

For lighter price point I would suggest Dobyns rods. They have numerous levels of quality, and price accordingly. I have been VERY pleased.

Give em a look, you won't be disappointed!
 
Long rods are a must when throwing the increasingly longer leaders you'll be using for Carolina Rigs.
 
Much like guns you get what you pay for. I like Lews baitcasters in a 7.5:1 ratio. In rods I like a Med/heavy 7’6” rod. Lews is about as cheap as I go, Duckett rods are nice and around the same price point. St. Croix for a little more money but you can catch them on sale/clearance on their website. Any new reel I get I immediately put ceramic bearings in, usually Spool Highspeed Bearings. I never buy an off the shelf combo, they never have high enough aspect ratio reels or long enough rods.
 
Shimano fan, here.
no, not one problem with
reels or rods for +20 years.

have four for fresh-water
and four for salt-water.
the newest reel is three
years old.
 
In my experience (admitted not a lot), the longer the rod the less accuracy you might have. I like a 6' to 6'6" medium. Lew's does make nice equipment. Some of their rods have the MicroWave guides on them. They are suppose to straighten out the line as it leaves the reel. Probably more effective on a spinning setup than a bait casting rig. I also like the Ugly Stik Rods. They may not be the most sensitive rods out there but they are durable and affordable.

Kast King is also making a bunch of stuff. If they don't make it, you don't need it. Their Resolute rod also has the MicroWave guides on them. I just bought a Resolute spinning rod with an Emerald Eagle spinning reel. Haven't even fished it yet. I usually get salt water rated equipment so I can use it anywhere I need to.

I won't spend a lot of money on fishing equipment. I think my most expensive reel is a 13 Fishing Concept Z bearingless bait caster. Paid about $170 for it and that was outside my comfort zone but a friend talked me into it.
 
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Shimano and Revo’s from Abu Garcia have been good for me. I like the split grip rods for my spinning gear. I can hold the rod and get a nice grip with a finger on the blank when finesse fishing. With bait casters I don't find it as useful.
 
I’ve not been impressed with any of the 13fishing stuff I’ve used. Seems like a good marketing company making bad fishing equipment.
 
Ran a rod and reel repair and custom rod business here in Winston for 20 years. By far my favorite bass type reels were Shimanos. Easy to work on, parts were/are cheap, quality was excellent. Next in line back then were Diawa, Lews and Garcia. Built hundreds of fresh and salt water rods, mainly rods for people that just couldn't find a factory rod that met their specs. Don't know how many thousands of reels and rods I repaired.

As for ceramic, etc. bearings, I don't know what the quality is now but back then the big thing were these high dollar 'aircraft' grade bearings. Had a customer once that swore that those bearings were better than factory. Cleaned his reels and asked him to go out in the yard to check and see if his new bearings were worth it. Only thing is I only replaced his bearings in one of the reels. Had four reels and the only one he didn't think was better was the one with the new bearings in it. He hung his head, I changed out the one with the new bearings, gave him all the bearings to see if he could get his money back.
 
I’ve not been impressed with any of the 13fishing stuff I’ve used. Seems like a good marketing company making bad fishing equipment.
The Concept Z is the only piece of 13 Fishing equipment I have. I also prefer a spinning setup over a bait caster so I've not used the Concept Z extensively. It has been a good reel thus far though.
 
I’ve always had success with jerkbaits and even small topwaters with a shorter (6’) rod and smaller reel such as most Shimano reels. I used a pistol grip rod and several iterations of Shimano’s Bantam series reels. Smooth retrieve, and a lot of wrist action with a Heddon tiny torpedo or Pop’R caught me a lot of fish. Maybe I’m getting dated here, and I’m not trying to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I challenge you to find a pistol grip rod anywhere. I haven’t seen one in a while.

We seem to come from the same roots (rod/reel/bait wise), which is the reason for this thread. I always used pistol grip/short grip rods (around 6' or less) enjoyed the accuracy and wrist action they allowed but like you said, they seem to be non-existent now.

I can see where the long grip would be beneficial to sling some heavy lures or lures that don't need any input but the biggest lures I tend to throw are devilhorses/chugbugs/buzzbaits, I MIGHT occasionally throw a zara spook. A typical 6' rod gets me plenty of distance.

@gunbelt never been big on fishing Carolina Rigs, certainly may at some point but its typically not a go to setup for me as i'm not normally in deep enough water to justify it (in the fashion I was taught to use them).

@SilvrSRT10 I'm going to come off as a snob but once you learn and get used to a bait caster you likely wont be playing with spinning reels. About the only thing I like to use mine for are crappie/sunfish.. and now maybe catfishing with my two new rods/reels.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, keep em coming.
 
@SilvrSRT10 I'm going to come off as a snob but once you learn and get used to a bait caster you likely wont be playing with spinning reels. About the only thing I like to use mine for are crappie/sunfish.. and now maybe catfishing with my two new rods/reels.
I do need to work with mine a little more often. I've learned that if you use braid on them it needs to be heavy or the wind knots will drive you crazy. I've talked to a couple people and watched enough Youtube video's on how to set one up. I'm dialing them in.
 
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Make sure they are adjusted correctly for the lure you are using. Admittedly, I rarely ever used braid, grew up on mono line. I've started using braid on a couple of old bait casters the better half has, backlashes are more difficult to get out with braided line from what I have seen but I like it once the reel is dialed in (i've always held the rod straight out about 4-5' off the ground, hit the spool release and let the bait fall, adjust it down to where the spool just does stop turning when the lure hits the ground). I'm not sure if thats the "proper way" but its always worked for me. I think we're using 30lb test/8lb diameter in both Spyderwire and Powerpro. She claims Powerpro is less temperamental than Spyderwire, I don't have enough experience with it to say either way.
 
I've got a number of them and a couple with Spyderwire Ultracast Invisi Braid. If memory serves I think it's 40#. Yeah, I set it up similarly to your description each time I change the lure. Still get a backlash every once in awhile. I only get out fishing twice a year lately and I have to learn all over each time I go. We fish in inland salt water ponds usually surrounded by brush and low hanging branches. I've reached my limit on catching trees some trips. I've become the master at getting lures unstuck from different things. I've only lost one lure in the last four trips but had many opportunities to do so. Wait, make that two lures lost. I remember making a cast when an old line snapped sending my chatter bait to the center of the pond. I'll have to try the Powerpro and see how that works.
 
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If you guys have heard of KastKing, Checkout Sixgill Fishing. I am one of their pro staff members(not that it means anything), and I’ll put their rods up against any rod out there. The reels they have had some issues with in the past but are solid as well. They’re relatively new, about 5 years in business. I own about 15 of their rods both casting and spinning. Anyone near me wants to try their stuff, let me know.

https://sixgillfishing.com/
 
I've been using braid almost exclusively for years.

As light as 15# which is the diameter of 6# mono I believe.

Love it for wormin!
 
I've got a number of them and a couple with Spyderwire Ultracast Invisi Braid. If memory serves I think it's 40#. Yeah, I set it up similarly to your description each time I change the lure. Still get a backlash every once in awhile. I only get out fishing twice a year lately and I have to learn all over each time I go. We fish in inland salt water ponds usually surrounded by brush and low hanging branches. I've reached my limit on catching trees some trips. I've become the master at getting lures unstuck from different things. I've only lost one lure in the last four trips but had many opportunities to do so. Wait, make that two lures lost. I remember making a cast when an old line snapped sending my chatter bait to the center of the pond. I'll have to try the Powerpro and see how that works.

I use power pro exclusively. It’s good stuff. Better suited for baitcasters but great line. I use 50lb green on all my reels. Say it’s over kill till you try to snatch an 8 or 9lb fish out of a Bush after smashing a frog.
 
What we are hunting for are the big Red Drum. 30 to 40"+ ones. In alligator infested waters. My biggest to date is only 18" but my friend has caught 40 inchers out of the same waters. So I'd say a heavy line is warranted. I'll get some Powerpro coming this way so I'll have it for our next outing.
 
I find power pro is stiffer than Spiderwire.
Used to be the other way around. Power pro loosens up after a bit. You’re not supposed to put it on yer fly pole
 
That's what the g/f said, Powerpro loosens up when it gets wet but it is noticeably stiffer than spyderwire out of the package
 
I’ve used power pro, spider wire, and Kast King braid. Never had any issues out of any of them. The power pro is stiff but wears in nicely, I had limited use of the kast king.
 
If you guys have heard of KastKing, Checkout Sixgill Fishing. I am one of their pro staff members(not that it means anything), and I’ll put their rods up against any rod out there. The reels they have had some issues with in the past but are solid as well. They’re relatively new, about 5 years in business. I own about 15 of their rods both casting and spinning. Anyone near me wants to try their stuff, let me know.

https://sixgillfishing.com/
Damn, those rods are nearly G Loomis price! What's the real world price (or your hook up price)? I need a few rods.

I really want a Stella spinner. $700.
 
Damn, those rods are nearly G Loomis price! What's the real world price (or your hook up price)? I need a few rods.

I really want a Stella spinner. $700.
Some of their rods are near G Loomis Price. They also do buy one get one free on several of their rods a couple times a year. Send me a PM on the ones you’re looking at.
 
OP, I was kind of in the same boat as you last spring. Hadn't really fished in 20 years but since my 4 year old loves it (and is really good at it) I started back. Bass Pro had a sale on a Lews Mach Speed II/Speed Spool combo for $99 that was normally $169 or something. I got it, and I can't cast a baitcaster to save my life. However, it seems really nice and light.

Now for spinning reels, I've got a ton for saltwater, but I really like my Diawa BG. I hear that also makes a fantastic FW reel that won't break the bank. I have mine on a 7' Shimano GLF ML-Fast rod and I really like it. Super sensitive and what I plan to throw next year again with a popping cork and some swimbaits/shrimp/Gulp/etc.

I do need to update my FW spinning setup...
 
Bumping this up with updates.

Took a trip up to Bass Pro to check out some reels they had, wound up grabbing a couple of their Pro Qualifier 2 reels that were on sale. They also had a couple of pistol grip rods that look pretty good, grabbed a couple, 5'6" and a 6'. Lined them up with Power Pro 30lb test.

@tbafile Bass Pro carries Ugly Stick GX2 rods, pistol grip, Medium action, 5'6" and 6'. They also have a house brand "Tourney Special" that comes with a pistol grip. Reviews on the tourney special are not great with the threaded collar being the weak spot but its a pretty nice feeling rod IMO, I got a medium/heavy action 5'6", we'll see how it holds up.

Been to the lake a few times since, while I know these aren't high quality reels by any means, they are faaaaaaaaar smoother than any of the 25+ year old Diawa/Abu reels I used to play with.

Ready for warmer weather and top water season to get here, these fish seem to have caught lock jaw lately. I did however manage to catch one yawning today and landed a worm in his mouth. :rolleyes:

I also have tried to use one of those funny split grip rods a few times, nope, garbage, ya'll can keep that mess. Maybe one day soon that fad will be gone and nice short handled rods will be plentiful.
 
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Don't wait for warmer weather. Get the jigs out and bounce them around stumps and stuff.
 
We've spent more time in a johnboat the past 3-4 weeks than we did all summer.. no waiting here lol. Threw mostly worms today, caught one on a 6" moccasin, the better half tried a couple different colored lizards with no luck.

I'll have to look to see if I have any big jigs to try, most of our jigs are panfish/crappie sized.
 
Bumping this up with updates.

Took a trip up to Bass Pro to check out some reels they had, wound up grabbing a couple of their Pro Qualifier 2 reels that were on sale. They also had a couple of pistol grip rods that look pretty good, grabbed a couple, 5'6" and a 6'. Lined them up with Power Pro 30lb test.

@tbafile Bass Pro carries Ugly Stick GX2 rods, pistol grip, Medium action, 5'6" and 6'. They also have a house brand "Tourney Special" that comes with a pistol grip. Reviews on the tourney special are not great with the threaded collar being the weak spot but its a pretty nice feeling rod IMO, I got a medium/heavy action 5'6", we'll see how it holds up.

Been to the lake a few times since, while I know these aren't high quality reels by any means, they are faaaaaaaaar smoother than any of the 25+ year old Diawa/Abu reels I used to play with.

Ready for warmer weather and top water season to get here, these fish seem to have caught lock jaw lately. I did however manage to catch one yawning today and landed a worm in his mouth. :rolleyes:

I also have tried to use one of those funny split grip rods a few times, nope, garbage, ya'll can keep that mess. Maybe one day soon that fad will be gone and nice short handled rods will be plentiful.

Learn thd cold weather patterns on your home lake. Usually you can find spots where the fish stack up in winter and pre spawn. More work, but some great fishing when you figure it out. I used to dead stick 10” power worms in CA in the winter off points. Big fish were had. It was good.
 
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